When four Serbian criminals with South African links were murdered in interlinked shootings, media speculated it was revenge for the killing of wartime paramilitary boss Arkan, but the murders actually showed how violence follows Serbian gangsters wherever they go.

Documents and evidence obtained by BIRN show that Albania’s judicial vetting authority sidelined evidence that links Administrative Appeal Court judge Artur Malaj to accusations of corruption and the murky ownership of an upmarket villa.

After Bulgaria funnelled 90 million euros from the EU into restoration projects that critics have slated, conservationists dread the results of the next spending spree – and the expected tourist boom has yet to materialise.